Ishaq Williams Archives - Her Loyal Sons https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog A Notre Dame Football Blog Thu, 12 May 2016 03:02:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.8.3 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/HLS-Avatar-Option-2-150x150.png Ishaq Williams Archives - Her Loyal Sons https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog 32 32 Checking In On The Undrafted Irish https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2016/05/12/checking-irish-rookies-nfl/ Thu, 12 May 2016 09:30:06 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=34311 Here’s the latest on the athletes who played last year for Notre Dame, were not drafted and are now trying to make an NFL team: CHRIS BROWN: There are actually two players named Chris Brown on the Dallas Cowboys roster as of right now. The first is the Notre Dame graduate who was a great...

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]]> Here’s the latest on the athletes who played last year for Notre Dame, were not drafted and are now trying to make an NFL team:

Photo by James D. Smith/Dallas Cowboys

Photo by James D. Smith/Dallas Cowboys

CHRIS BROWN: There are actually two players named Chris Brown on the Dallas Cowboys roster as of right now. The first is the Notre Dame graduate who was a great complement to Will Fuller in the 2015 Irish receiving corps. The second is a former Cal Poly QB who was invited to a minicamp to prove himself as a wide receiver. In a Tuesday post, SB Nation’s Ryan Ratty wonders aloud if Notre Dame’s former standout could push fellow Cowboys WR Devin Street off the roster.

Obviously, Brown will have a tougher road, as Street has the advantage of knowing the offense and being more familiar with the rest of the roster. But Brown will be given the opportunity to jump right in and prove himself. Brown’s workout numbers were impressive. It’s worth mentioning that he was a stud track jumper and sprinter in high school. If Brown can put on weight to match his speed, which he likely will with an NFL weight room and conditioning program, the Cowboys will be getting a unique player that can do a lot for this offense.

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

AMIR CARLISLE: Carlisle, who is sporting #81 in camp, has survived the first round of cuts with the Arizona Cardinals. SB Nation’s Jess Root, who profiled the former Irish receiver Wednesday for the Revenge of the Birds blog, said Carlisle’s long-term viability with the Cardinals is in doubt: “Carlisle will have a very hard time even sticking on the practice squad. The receiver room is stacked right now. However, his versatility could prove valuable. Nonetheless, he is likely just a camp body.”

MATTHIAS FARLEY: Like Carlisle, Farley signed with the Arizona Cardinals after going undrafted. I haven’t been able to find any news about Farley since his May 1 signing.

EVERETT GOLSON: Golson transferred to Florida State after graduating from Notre Dame in 2015. He started the season for the Seminoles, but was benched by season’s end and skipped the Peach Bowl for personal reasons. He returned to Notre Dame for Pro Day. After the draft, Golson accepted an invitation to tryout with the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts are low on quarterbacks, so they invited Golson and former Irish adversary, UMass’ Blake Frohnapfel, to throw and “to help the practices function.” I haven’t seen official word on how the event went. But the Colts claimed former Liberty QB Josh Woodrum off waivers on Tuesday, so it’s safe to assume that the Golson/Indianapolis relationship may soon be at an end.

JARRETT GRACE: Grace, who started for the Irish at middle linebacker in 2013 before a devestating leg injury, participated in Notre Dame’s March 31 Pro Day. While his performance was not enough to be drafted, the Chicago Bears have extended a mini-camp tryout invitation. The mini-camp begins this weekend.

Eilar Hardy

Eilar Hardy

EILAR HARDY: Hardy, a former Irish safety perhaps best known for his inclusion in the “Frozen Five” academic scandal, was invited to tryout with the Cincinnati Bengals. That happened May 6. On Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times’ Greg Auman tweeted that Hardy has been offered a second tryout with the Buccaneers. Hardy returned for the final five games of the 2015 season, then spent his senior season at Bowling Green. He returned to Notre Dame for its Pro Day.

MATT HEGARTY: The former Irish center, who finished his career at Oregon, was invited to the San Francisco 49ers’ rookie minicamp, which took place last weekend. The 49ers start organized team activities in two weeks. To my knowledge, they haven’t announced any signings or cuts.

ROMEO OKWARA: Okwara signed as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants. There’s not much news coming out of camp about him. The Twitter account of Big Blue United, a popular Giants-related site, said Okwara was an “extreme long shot to make it past the first cut at training camp.”

ELIJAH SHUMATE: Undrafted, the former Notre Dame safety signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the conclusion of the draft. Shumate, wearing #41 for the Bucs, had an interception – one of at least three on the day – off former Alabama and Toledo QB Philip Ely during the Saturday session. Shumate, a film, television and theatre major, graduates this weekend from Notre Dame!

Shumate told the Essex (N.J.) News Daily that he plans on a career in the NFL.

“That been a dream of mine since I was 6, but I also want to work with inner-city kids and help change the environment to not only a comfortable environment but also a confident one, too. I want kids to feel they have the sources to put them in good standing with kids that are more fortunate. Some of my fondest memories growing up in East Orange was having everything I needed, within a matter of a few steps from my house; a park that I not only had fun in, but also help make me become the person I am today. Stemming from either competing on the court or even as little as talking to a girl, (I) just did not want to lose and that is one of the biggest character traits that I carried.”

New York Giants defensive end Ishaq Williams runs through a drill during NFL football rookie camp, Friday, May 6, 2016, in, East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

New York Giants defensive end Ishaq Williams runs through a drill during NFL football rookie camp, Friday, May 6, 2016, in, East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

ISHAQ WILLIAMS: Williams, whose last competitive game was in December 2013, impressed New York Giants personnel enough to earn a contract at the conclusion of his tryout. In a Giants.com video, the WFAN’s Paul Dottino said Williams may have gotten a look due to a recommendation of new Giants strength and conditioning coach, Aaron Wellman, who worked in a similar capacity for Notre Dame. The only problem with that thought: I’m not sure how much interaction Wellman would have had with Williams, who the NCAA ruled ineligible for the 2015 season. It may have been because Williams was New York State’s 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year and a standout in nearby Brooklyn, N.Y. Regardless of why the Giants invited him, Williams is providing much needed depth for Big Blue at the defensive end position. Williams is currently three classes short of graduation.

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]]> Crist’s Advice for Late Round Picks: “Enjoy Every Second” https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2016/04/06/crists-advice-for-late-round-picks-have-fun/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2016/04/06/crists-advice-for-late-round-picks-have-fun/#comments Wed, 06 Apr 2016 10:00:54 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=33776 Dayne Crist’s dream since childhood was to play in the NFL, so the former Notre Dame quarterback wrestled with balancing reality with ambition during the lead-up to the 2013 draft. “I was a late-round projection at best,” Crist said Tuesday from his Los Angeles office. “You kind of cynically play the game like, ‘Oh, you...

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]]> Kansas quarterback Dayne Crist throws as fullback Nick Sizemore fends off Oklahoma State defensive end Nigel Nicholas during the second quarter on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 at Memorial Stadium. (Nick Krug / Lawrence Journal-World)

Kansas quarterback Dayne Crist throws as fullback Nick Sizemore fends off Oklahoma State defensive end Nigel Nicholas during the second quarter on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012 at Memorial Stadium. (Nick Krug / Lawrence Journal-World)

Dayne Crist’s dream since childhood was to play in the NFL, so the former Notre Dame quarterback wrestled with balancing reality with ambition during the lead-up to the 2013 draft.

“I was a late-round projection at best,” Crist said Tuesday from his Los Angeles office. “You kind of cynically play the game like, ‘Oh, you know. It’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen,’ to not get your hopes up. But at the same time, I mean, you’re really hoping your name gets called, and that’s everybody’s dream.”

Crist knew so many variables outside his control would ultimately decide his fate.

So from Dec. 1 – the day of his final collegiate game – to draft day in late April, Crist’s focus was on readying himself for any opportunity.

“Your agent is the number one guy that you need to secure. Because without him, none of the other stuff is an even important conversation,” said Crist. “Get into OTAs (off-season training sessions for NFL teams), get into camp. Sign your contract and then kind of get a sense of where you are.”

Crist picked Joe Linta, but not because he negotiated the richest contract in NFL history for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Instead, the former five-star standout from Sherman Oaks chose Linta because of his pedigree as a former coach and a student of the game.

“He wouldn’t sign a guy unless he had kind of watched film on them personally, which I thought was kind of cool, because it was very much kind of that player/coach relationship,” said Crist. “I loved that and (that) he was a straight shooter.”

USA Today Sports

USA Today Sports

Crist wasn’t invited to the NFL Combine, but he didn’t lack opportunity to attract attention.

The quarterback, who played his final season at Kansas, impressed scouts enough at the Casino Del Sol Senior Bowl practices to earn an invitation to a second game, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Los Angeles.

“It’s high stress, right? Because everyone’s trying to put on the best possible showing for all the scouts and teams that are there and GMs that are there,” he said. “But, at the same time, it was just so fun.”

Crist earned MVP honors in the NFLPA bowl after running for a touchdown and throwing for another in a 34-0 victory.

“I didn’t know if I was going to have another opportunity to put on pads and go play,” he said. “So, for me, I really treated this as my last opportunity to play football. It’s a really liberating feeling, just going out there and just enjoying that experience.”

Notre Dame's Romeo Okwara (45) and Ishaq Williams run a drill during Notre Dame's NFL football Pro Day in South Bend, Ind., Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Notre Dame’s Romeo Okwara (45) and Ishaq Williams run a drill during Notre Dame’s NFL football Pro Day in South Bend, Ind., Thursday, March 31, 2016. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Notre Dame had 10 players invited to the NFL Combine, but at least 17 former players with higher aspirations who participated in the school’s recent Pro Day evaluation. Players such as linebacker Jarrett Grace, wide receiver Amir Carlisle, safety Eilar Hardy, defensive end Ishaq Williams and quarterback Everett Golson are expected to be either taken late or go entirely undrafted during the three-day NFL event, April 28-30, in Chicago.

“My advice for those (late-round) guys that may never have an opportunity to play again, is absolutely enjoy every second,” he said. “There’s going to come a time when you just can’t do it anymore, and you’re going to really hope that you really had as much fun you possibly did.”

Crist added: “I can fondly look back and say, yeah, I had a blast during that period, and I was lucky that someone set parameters for me and told me to do that going in, because it would be a lot harder as far as the transition is concerned to kind of walk away without having that full closure.”

The former quarterback also suggests that late-round or undrafted guys take all feedback with a grain of salt.

“There’s just so many moving parts, so I don’t think that any of the conversations or suggestions of me being taken were done with any form of like malice or intentional deception,” he said. “A lot of teams will tell you, ‘Look, this is what we have in mind going into the draft,’ but anybody that watching the draft knows how much that changes on a pick-to-pick basis.”

This is where an aggressive, talented agent can be indispensable.

Crist estimates there was nine teams that “had really solid interest” in offering him a rookie minicamp invite and a chance at a roster spot. Within 10 minutes of the draft closing, he had accepted an offer from the Kansas City Chiefs.

While the Chiefs didn’t work out, Crist played with the Ravens on and off for about four months before the start of the 2013 NFL season.

Dayne and his fiancee, Hilary.

Dayne and his fiancée, Hilary.

“Again, it’s about controlling what you can control,” he said. “I could control the reps that I got in camp, the reps that I got in OTAs, how I prepared, how I took care of my body, so for me it was just doing the same things that I had always done, and not really reading too much into, ‘Oh, I only got … I got eight reps all practice.’ You can’t think about those things, because you’ll drive yourself nuts.”

Crist had gotten his shot at the NFL. And when it didn’t result in a steady job, he held no regrets.

“I was excited about what was going on in my life personally with my fiancée, Hilary,” said Crist, who is getting married May 21 at Notre Dame’s Basilica of the Sacred Heart. “I was excited about being able to kind of walk away from the game on my own terms and pursue my professional passions, and put the Notre Dame degree to work and really kind of enjoy and experience a different side of life, that I just hadn’t had the opportunity to enjoy before.”

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2016/04/06/crists-advice-for-late-round-picks-have-fun/feed/ 1 Ishaq’s Back (in School) https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/06/02/ishaq-wlliams-readmitted-notre-dame/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/06/02/ishaq-wlliams-readmitted-notre-dame/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2015 10:00:19 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=29636 Last Friday, Notre Dame received the expected news that KeiVarae Russell was back with the Irish. Yesterday, another one of the Frozen Five had their fate become a little clearer: Ishaq Williams has been formally re-admitted to Notre Dame by the Committee on Readmission. — Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) June 1, 2015 The important thing to...

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]]> Credit: Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Last Friday, Notre Dame received the expected news that KeiVarae Russell was back with the Irish. Yesterday, another one of the Frozen Five had their fate become a little clearer:

The important thing to note here is that Ishaq is back only academically at this point. His status on the football team is up in the air.

The reason? It’s one that we’ve mentioned several times this offseason. Scholarship numbers are tight and a fifth year isn’t a guaranteed thing, even for a former five-star recruit (NB: Russell is entering his senior season. ND unofficially guarantees scholarships for athletes for four years, thus why Russell is a definite while Ishaq is up in the air).

As of right now, without Ishaq, the Irish stand at 86 scholarships, one more than the 85 maximum. Of those 86, Chase Hounshell is the likely fifth year candidate to be first on the chopping block. Hounshell swapped to TE from DE, but based on reports from spring ball, it doesn’t appear that he has done enough to solidify his spot on the roster.

The remaining fifth years (minus Williams and transfer Avery Sebastian) are the following:

  • Amir Carlisle
  • Nick Martin
  • Jarrett Grace
  • Joe Schmidt
  • Matthias Farley

Yeah, have fun figuring out which one of those gents that you’d like to ask to not come back.

Of course, the one eternal truth of the Notre Dame offseason is that strange things happen to this roster. Already we’ve had Everett Golson deciding to transfer, but we’ve also seen incoming freshman Bo Wallace announcing, seemingly out of nowhere, that he wouldn’t be attending Notre Dame.

There’s a reason why Brian Kelly has mostly dodged the question about what to do about the roster until the zero hour. He’s been through this dance too many times and knows all too well that he may not even have to make such a tough decision by the time fall camp breaks.

So for now, the Irish and Ishaq will remain in a holding pattern. Remain buckled, Irish fans, the offseason ain’t over yet.

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/06/02/ishaq-wlliams-readmitted-notre-dame/feed/ 20 Morning Roundup: March 18, 2015 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/18/morning-roundup-march-18-2015/ Wed, 18 Mar 2015 12:00:31 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28529 Good morning! Here are your headlines: FROM OUR SITE Step one: Northeastern VIDEO WatchND: Brian Kelly press conference – March 17, 2015 (42:18) Blue & Gold Illustrated: Video: Kelly previews spring ball (3:03) Irish247: Video: Kelly previews spring practice (3:08) Irish Illustrated: Video: Kelly welcomes QB battle (3:03) Irish Sports Daily: ISD video: Brian Kelly...

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]]> Good morning! Here are your headlines:

FROM OUR SITE

VIDEO

PODCAST

RECRUITING (2016 offers / 2017 offers)

CURRENT TEAM

COACHING

SCHEDULE

MISC.

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]]> Matt Hegarty to Transfer, The Fifth Year Dominoes Begin to Fall https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2015 11:00:19 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=28282 As I mentioned in my post regarding the transfer of Avery Sebastian, the Irish sat at 94 total scholarships, with 12 of those belonging to current Notre Dame players with a potential fifth year. At some point, tough decisions would need to be made in regards to these players and one has already been made....

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]]> As I mentioned in my post regarding the transfer of Avery Sebastian, the Irish sat at 94 total scholarships, with 12 of those belonging to current Notre Dame players with a potential fifth year. At some point, tough decisions would need to be made in regards to these players and one has already been made. Matt Hegarty has decided to transfer from Notre Dame citing a desire for as much playing time as possible, which he wouldn’t get in 2015 with the Irish:

Recently my coaches informed me that they wanted me to change positions. They also explained that with many younger players in the wings, they wanted to develop them more heavily in the rotation — a need that I understand and appreciate.

“Unfortunately, I have already had to miss a precious amount of football battling back from my stroke, and I value every rep and opportunity going into my final year of college ball that much more. My goal is to contribute this season, continue to develop my skills and pursue my dream of playing in the NFL. Because of this goal, I have asked for a transfer to play at another school where I can contribute more on the field. Notre Dame has amassed formidable depth on the O-line and have many very talented players to fill all positions.

I can’t blame Matt or Brian Kelly as this seems to be the best move for both parties. Matt will graduate from Notre Dame in May and will be able to play immediately due to the NCAA graduate transfer exception.

And that’s a very important thing to note. This isn’t a case of the Irish going full SEC and needing to cut people due to oversigning which we’ve certainly railed against here at HLS. The difference here is that players aren’t being shoved out the door or having a scholarship yanked from them before they graduate. That’s a huge distinction and, quite frankly, tough decisions on fifth years is a sign of a healthy program.

So now the number sits at 93 and the remaining fifth years on the table look like this:

[table “” not found /]

That’s eleven total and if you’re doing the math, this means that, unless there is some underclassmen attrition that we don’t yet know about, eight of those players will not receive a fifth year scholarship.

Golson and Schmidt are obvious keeps in that list, in my opinion, but after that, things get a lot rougher. While this is certainly a good problem to have, I can only imagine the headache that juggling these options will cause and I could make solid cases for at least four different guys on that list to fill the third slot. I’m honestly not even sure what direction Kelly will go here.

With spring ball about to get under way, I would wager this situation will resolve itself soon and it will certainly be interesting to see what happens. If you had the choice, which three would you keep?

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/03/05/matt-hegarty-transfer-fifth-year-dominoes-begin-fall/feed/ 2 Morning Roundup: Feb. 5, 2015 https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2015/02/05/morning-roundup-feb-5-2015/ Thu, 05 Feb 2015 13:00:17 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=27778 Good morning! National Signing Day is now over, but not without a little midday excitement. Here are your headlines: FROM OUR SITE National Signing Day so far: The Irish at 24 SIGNING DAY/RECRUITING NEWS NY Times: National Signing Day, when college football makes a spectacle of itself UND.com: Fighting Irish add 24 names to 2015...

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]]> Good morning! National Signing Day is now over, but not without a little midday excitement. Here are your headlines:

FROM OUR SITE

SIGNING DAY/RECRUITING NEWS

VIDEOS

PODCASTS

RB JOSH ADAMS

LB JOSH BARAJAS

LB ASMAR BILAL

TE MILES BOYKIN

DB SHAUN CRAWFORD

CB NICK COLEMAN

OL/DL LINCOLN FEIST

S NICCO FERTITTA

WR JALEN GUYTON

LB BRANDON HUTSON

TE ALIZE JONES

QB ROBBY REGAN

G TREVOR RUHLAND

WR CJ SANDERS

LB/WR DEVYN SPRUELL

WR EQUANIMEOUS ST. BROWN

DT ELIJAH TAYLOR

DT BRANDON TIASSUM

DE BO WALLACE

CB ASHTON WHITE

RB DEXTER WILLIAMS

S MYKELTI WILLIAMS

QB BRANDON WIMBUSH

K JUSTIN YOON

OTHERS

COACHING

CURRENT TEAM

HISTORY

MISC.

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]]> Finding the Bottom https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/11/16/finding-bottom/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/11/16/finding-bottom/#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2014 06:34:28 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=27165 I’m not even sure where exactly to start with the mess that was Notre Dame’s loss to Northwestern. Typing “Notre Dame’s loss to Northwestern” doesn’t even make sense to me. The Irish lost and gave up 43 points to a team that hasn’t even cracked 30 all season. Iowa blew these guys out. But here...

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]]> Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

I’m not even sure where exactly to start with the mess that was Notre Dame’s loss to Northwestern. Typing “Notre Dame’s loss to Northwestern” doesn’t even make sense to me. The Irish lost and gave up 43 points to a team that hasn’t even cracked 30 all season.

Iowa blew these guys out.

But here we are in what I consider the worst loss since I walked on to campus in 2003. Oh sure, we’ve lost to worse teams, but those ND teams were objectively terrible. While this team isn’t championship-caliber or even playoff-caliber, a dose of reality that I accepted last week, this isn’t a terrible team; however, they most certainly played like one.

No one is blameless in this dumpster fire. Everett Golson turned the ball over twice, one of which was a fumble right at the goal line. Chris Brown fumbled near the goal line as well. Malik Zaire’s debut at holder saw him botch a hold that ended up not just blowing a PAT, but gave Northwestern two free points as they took it the other way. Cam McDaniel, the one person no one expected to fumble, did so when Notre Dame was in the process of running out the clock to escape with a win.

Notre Dame has been playing with the fire of turnovers ever since the Syracuse game. They’ve somehow managed to overcome 3-5 turnover performances and win. Now they are regressing back to the mean and now facing the expected consequences of being so damned careless with the football.

The defense doesn’t escape from blame in this one either. As I said before, Notre Dame gave up 43 points to a team that hasn’t cracked 30 to this point. They surrendered a simply absurd 547 yards to the Wildcats. That, by the way, would be the highest total that Notre Dame has given up all season. Northwestern hadn’t cracked the 400 yard mark yet this season.

Now, I’m absolutely certain that injuries are playing into this. The loss of Joe Schmidt seems to loom larger than anyone expected. Sheldon Day and Daniel Cage also went down in this game. Of course, the suspensions expected starters like KeiVarae Russell and Ishaq Williams are wearing on this team. That still doesn’t excuse what happened here.

The defense looked absolutely lost. There were so many blown coverages in this game that I simply lost count. Wildcat receivers ran wide open all game long and, had they had actually caught a few balls, I’m likely sitting here ranting and raving about one of the worst blowout losses in ND history.

Even with Nothwestern managing to drop every wide open pass possible, Notre Dame still surrendered four TD drives of 70 yards or more.

The special teams screwed the pooch as well. We’ve already mentioned the bad hold from Zaire, but Kyle Brindza also managed to have the worst night of his career. Brindza is a 70%+ FG kicker and, even with the Stanford botched snaps and being forced to kick into a gale-force wind during Navy, you have a kicker that has only missed a small handful of attempts all season. He missed two tonight, going 0-2. He also had a 26 yard punt just for good measure too. Even when ND did something great on special teams with a blocked FG, Drue Tranquill inexplicably decided try and return in a completely bone-headed move.

The coaching staff is far from blameless in this disaster too. It starts with the curious decision to bench Max Redfield. I understand Max has struggled quite a bit this season, but I’m not sure that Drue improved this situation as the true freshman saw his own share of struggles throughout the night. Criticism could also be placed on using Zaire as a holder as that swap clearly wasn’t a quick fix.

And speaking of the holding/kicking situation, Brian Kelly noted that those struggles pushed him to go for two. In his presser after the game, Kelly stated that the chart showed the situation as a coin flip and, his confidence as a coach was so shaken in the disaster that is the FG unit, that he felt his chances were better going for two than kicking the PAT. Let that sink in for a bit. Once it does, further consider that if the Irish don’t botch the PAT and give up two points earlier, Kelly doesn’t even have to think twice about simply kicking the PAT.

And once that all sinks in, further consider that we are pulling our hair out over extra freakin’ points to squeak out a win against NORTHWESTERN.

I know Kelly has taken a bit of flack for not kneeling the ball, but I’m actually with him there. Kneeling the ball only to still have time on the clock and be forced to punt is dumb and, in my opinion is the epitome of terrible clock management. Calling a couple of runs takes some extra seconds off the clock and you might just bleed enough off the clock to sit on the ball on fourth down or, better yet, get a first and ice the game. But no, Cam fumbled and here we are splitting hairs about the final minutes of a game against Northwestern.

Make no mistake, there are plenty of other spots to have issues with how the game was coached and Kelly admitted as much in his presser. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say after a game that he needs to examine coaching decisions as well as needing to coach better in a game. Most notably, Kelly stated that perhaps calling a read option so close to the endzone was on him as he perhaps got too confident of Golson’s ability with that play. Further, his comments and reactions to questions about the issues with the kicking game and going for two almost screamed “I screwed up the kicking battery and then I didn’t trust it once it blew up in my face”.

As far as the Golson/Zaire debate. I don’t even know. Even Kelly paused before he gave Golson a very lackluster vote of confidence. I have a feeling the leash is shortening quite rapidly.

I know I’m about 1,000 words into this without tipping my hat at all to the Wildcats, but I do want to say that they punched well beyond their weight class and did what they needed to do to win. This team eclipsed previous offensive marks out of nowhere and their special teams made an impact. They didn’t have a FG of 30 yards or more coming into tonight and all four of their FGs were beyond that mark. It was that kind of night for them.

Simply put, I’m pissed. This was, excuse my French, a clusterfuck of epic proportions in every phase of the game and the coaching staff. There is a load of work to be done to halt this freefall and prevent a 7-5 disaster which, if Notre Dame plays like this the next two weeks, is an absolute certainly.

I didn’t want to head to the edge of the cliff last week, but I feel like I’ve just been tossed off the ledge. I believe that I’ve found the bottom. The last time I felt like this was when Notre Dame lost to Navy and Tulsa back-to-back. The Irish responded by upsetting Utah at home and won out for the remainder of the season. That’s the bounce-back that I need to see.

Because if this isn’t the bottom, I’m not sure how to handle the rest of this season.

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/11/16/finding-bottom/feed/ 5 Friday Roundup: The “Something I’ve Never Had” Edition https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/10/17/friday-roundup-something-ive-never-edition/ Fri, 17 Oct 2014 19:32:56 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=26712 In the fall of 1993, at just eight years old, my football obsession started in earnest. However, the college game remained off the radar. Like most kids in the DFW area, I lived and breathed Cowboys football. My grandfather, father, and uncle worked as ball boys on the Texas Stadium sidelines for years. Sundays were...

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]]> Friday RoundupIn the fall of 1993, at just eight years old, my football obsession started in earnest. However, the college game remained off the radar. Like most kids in the DFW area, I lived and breathed Cowboys football. My grandfather, father, and uncle worked as ball boys on the Texas Stadium sidelines for years. Sundays were for football.

That isn’t to say the occasional college game would come on the family TV on Saturdays, but it certainly wasn’t a priority and I most certainly never understood the importance of what was going on. I had a vague idea of what Notre Dame was, even though I wouldn’t watch Rudy for another couple of years, but I certainly knew they were the team with the gold helmets. I could probably recognize Florida State based on their helmets as well, but probably more for their fans tomahawk chopping.

I had no idea the game of century would go down in 1993. It could have been on my TV that fateful Saturday afternoon and I wouldn’t have realized the significance or probably cared. After all, my family had no college allegiance, save for a loose one with Texas, a fandom that I would drop a few years later once my mind focused on college and I learned of the wonders of Aggieland.

So, as I mentioned in the IBG, 1993 remains more of a history lesson than a memory. The same could be said for the 2002 victory. I got in to Notre Dame in the spring of 2003 and quite honestly, it was the last school in the world that I thought would accept me. I spent more time arguing with my mom about which applications to fill out than watching college football. Notre Dame topped the list of schools in which I felt filling out an application was a waste of time and money.

Shows what I know.

This is all a very long way of saying that my college football consciousness started in the spring of 2003, shortly after I purchased NCAA Football 2002. I learned everything I could about Notre Dame Football before campus. I couldn’t believe that I was actually going to this school that had all this rich history in a program. Not only that, Notre Dame was on a Return to Glory™!

The fall of 2003 quickly killed that illusion. The game against Florida State was beyond miserable. I grew to hate the tomahawk chop because it was the only thing you could hear in that stunned Stadium…well, save for one brave student willing to do pushups for first downs in lieu of points screaming “BRADY, I BELIEVE IN YOU!” while in the pushup position. That belief was terribly misplaced. The Irish went three and out.

However, since those dark times of Irish football, I have had many things to be happy about. In fact, I have now seen many a hated opponent fall at the hands of the Irish on multiple occasions: Southern Cal, Michigan, Michigan State, Stanford, and even Miami. However, there has been one team that I have not yet had the pleasure of watching lose: Florida State.

I can’t think of a better stage than Saturday night to change that. It’s as close to the “game of the century” matchup that I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing–a top five matchup at the home of the defending national champs and Heisman winner.

I want to party like it’s 1993* and experience something new. Let’s get weird, Notre Dame.

*Minus the BC thing.

The Roundup

Here’s your weekly Savin’ Aven update. I want to give a big thanks to the ND Club of Dallas as we raised $350 in raffle sales (a high for the year) for Savin’ Aven. 100% of that goes directly to this fund and with that, we are now up to $5,852 of the $15,000. Keep it up!

Not all stats are created equal. In fact, when it comes to the playoff committee, it appears that some can’t even be discussed.

Remember that theory that I had in last week’s Roundup? You know, the one in which I thought that Gurley got ratted out because he cut into someone’s profits. Turns out, I was right.

The SEC needs a new commish. Mike Slive is stepping down and will be battling prostate cancer. I know we like picking on the SEC a bit here, but we definitely hope he recovers fully.

Lots of ND linkage this week. We lead off with Ishaq’s father making us all feeling a little bit better about a terrible situation. Then, we have an awesome piece about Joe Schmidt (cue a Molly swoon!). A great piece about student-athlete life at Notre Dame by someone that’s been through it. Finally, we have Zibby going from boxer to the NFL to firefighter.

And now your moment of Nix… Sad, sad things are happening at Michigan, but this might be the saddest:

Yeah, the vertical recording wasn’t the worst part about that…

(h/t @oakerland)

The Booze

So considering that Florida State will throw a flaming spear into their field, I figured that fire needed to be a part of the booze this week. Further, this beverage will combine both beer and liquor:

The Flaming Dr. Pepper

  • Fill a pint glass (or solo cup) with enough beer to complete submerge a shot glass (light beer recommended for the flavor mixing that’ll go down)
  • Fill a shot glass, leaving a little bit of room on top, with amaretto liquor
  • Top the shot with 151-proof rum
  • Light it on fire
  • Cheer, toast, etc.
  • BLOW THE SHOT OUT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
  • Drop the shot into your beer
  • Chug and enjoy

Don’t ask me how beer and amaretto manages to taste like Dr. Pepper, but I swear to you, it does. This drink will also destroy you, so consume wisely.

As an added bonus, we need to give a hat tip to FoxSports.com’s Katie Nolan for teaching Madison Bumgarner that his Stone Cold-style chugging of beer is a complete waste. Katie will show you how you should properly chug 6 beers at once:

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]]> UPDATE: DaVaris Daniels “Done” at Notre Dame, Ishaq Williams Out for 2014, and Kendall Moore’s ND Career Comes to an End https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/10/14/davaris-daniels-done-notre-dame-ishaq-williams-2014/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/10/14/davaris-daniels-done-notre-dame-ishaq-williams-2014/#comments Tue, 14 Oct 2014 17:32:25 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=26681 Back when I did the HLS prediction post this past Friday, we knew that KeiVarae Russell told the team that he was done for the 2014 season as a result of the academic investigations that have been underway since August. Russell stated that he would return in 2015 and Brian Kelly stated that Ishaq Williams...

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]]> Back when I did the HLS prediction post this past Friday, we knew that KeiVarae Russell told the team that he was done for the 2014 season as a result of the academic investigations that have been underway since August. Russell stated that he would return in 2015 and Brian Kelly stated that Ishaq Williams relayed the same information to him when asked in today’s presser for the weekly Marooned Five update.

That update, however, was provided after Kelly was asked about DaVaris Daniels’ status and this tweet from his father:

https://twitter.com/PhillipDaniels/status/522048577963450369

Kelly simply replied that he hadn’t seen any tweets, which is likely as this happened less than ten or so minutes before his presser.

The mention of “#HeIsNDNoMore” in conjunction with the mention of DaVaris being “done at Notre Dame” implied that Daniels would either be transferring elsewhere or that it was time for a move to the NFL. Phillip has made no bones in regards to how he’s felt about Notre Dame, leading to many polarizing comments that could fill an entire #HLSRecap.

Soon after his dad’s tweet, DaVaris looked to extinguish some of the potential flames:

Soon after that, even Phillip seemed to be changing his tune:

https://twitter.com/PhillipDaniels/status/522069802697764864

I know it’s dangerous to read between the lines of 140 character statements, but there has always been a feeling that Phillip and DaVaris’ had some conflicting thoughts on the process. While both maintained DaVaris’ innocence and frustration with the length of the investigation, DaVaris never seemed to “poke the bear” with repeated criticisms of Notre Dame as his father did.  The timing of the tweets practically reads as “hey, dad, calm down, you’re burning a bridge I might need later.”

While judgement has been passed down on these three, it is important to note that we still don’t know the full extent of the judgement. Further, there is a good chance that we never will due to FERPA. We will only get what the players decide to tell us.

This could be anything from copying a paper, to having a very poor understanding that paraphrasing someone else’s work isn’t kosher, to trusting someone to “edit” their papers and not realizing (or caring) that those papers were now too similar for comfort, or even knowingly taking part in a much larger ring of academic fraud. The only thing we know is that the University believed they had enough evidence of an honor code violation and it is serious enough to warrant academic suspensions for at least a semester.

We are still awaiting word from Eilar Hardy and Kendall Moore; however, there is little doubt that, from a football perspective, these were the three biggest concerns of the five. Based on the silence from those two, it is quite likely that they decided to appeal and are awaiting that decision.

I certainly hope that Daniels learns from this (second) experience and is able to find success whether it is with the Irish in 2015, the NFL, or even elsewhere. Thankfully, Russell and Williams want back in which I think speaks volumes about Kelly and how he runs the program at Notre Dame–RKGs indeed, despite their stumbles.

As for this Saturday, just as it has been for the first six games of the season, next man in.

Post-publishing Addendum: I forgot to mention that Kelly also said that vacating wins, the other unknown in this case, remains just that. Kelly mentioned that it hadn’t been discussed yet, so there is no word at this time whether or not it was determined that any of the five played while ineligible due to any matter related to this investigation.

UPDATE [5:23 PM]: Kendall Moore has received his verdict as well and his career at ND has now come to an end.

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]]> https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/10/14/davaris-daniels-done-notre-dame-ishaq-williams-2014/feed/ 3 Notre Dame Unmatched On and Off the Field https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/17/notre-dame-unmatched-field/ https://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2014/09/17/notre-dame-unmatched-field/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2014 16:28:07 +0000 http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/?p=26356 Through three weeks, Notre Dame has already blown past expectations for 2014. And they’ve grossly exceeded moral expectations for any football program, professional or college. The 3-0 record may have been foreseen at this point by many Irish fans, but did we know that there would be two 30-plus point victories? Did we know that...

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]]> Through three weeks, Notre Dame has already blown past expectations for 2014. And they’ve grossly exceeded moral expectations for any football program, professional or college.

The 3-0 record may have been foreseen at this point by many Irish fans, but did we know that there would be two 30-plus point victories? Did we know that we’d have a poor performance against a rival and still find a way to coast to a victory (which is more than we could say at this point in 2012)? Did we know that Michigan would be a part of the former and not the latter?

But more impressive than the record is what is going on behind the curtains at this time regarding the academic fraud scandal.

We all know the narrative by now: DeVaris Daniels, KeiVarae Russell, Ishaq Williams and Kendall Moore have all been suspended indefinitely from the football team until more information and hearings are held to determine what happened in 2012 and what should happened from this point moving forward.

I know many Irish fans have become upset at the slow pace of justice resulting from this investigation. I understand. But these are events that happened two or three years ago and include tens of people, not just a few. Notre Dame investigations are extremely thorough; they get every drop of data and information they can. They also present their case against the student TO the student before the final hearings. This is the phase that the four suspended players seem to be going through currently. This way the student has the ability to know what they are up against and create a defense of their actions. It’s due process, and although nerve-wracking while involved it is an extremely fair process.

Quarterback Everett Golson knows all about this as well. Following the 2012 season, it came to light that Golson had participated in some form of academic fraud (Notre Dame does not release official charges against students as part of their privacy policy) and was no longer eligible to play as per the University’s guidelines. A common judgement in these cases is for the student to take a year off from the University and reapply for the following school year.

Will Mahone was dismissed from the University of Notre Dame and is currently enrolled at Youngstown State University

This disciplinary result is based on one goal: rehabilitation. They give the student a chance to not only be punished for their mistakes, but also to work on what caused them to make that decision. It gives them motivation to work harder to get back to where they want to be. Golson fought for this. He never once wavered regarding his desire to return to campus and he was readmitted.

Not all students are as lucky as these players, however. Notre Dame has often held to the standard that felonious acts are cause for expulsion and they maintained this policy regarding former RB/WR Will Mahone. Mahone was arrested and charged with five counts after an incident involving vandalism and resisting arrest in his hometown. He was immediately suspended from the team and the school asked him to leave after formal charges were filed. They made it very clear that Mahone would be allowed to reapply after the process was complete or if his felony charges were dropped or changed.

Mahone stuck to his guns and plead not-guilty at first, but as part of a pre-trial plea bargain he ended up pleading guilty to four misdemeanor charges and spent only ten days in jail. To the best of our knowledge, he never attempted to reapply to Notre Dame and now currently attends Youngstown State University.

In all three events, Notre Dame has been extremely consistent. Upon discovery of the event, the students involved immediately lose football privileges. University hearings are slow but fair. The University is open to readmission.

The sports news during the last couple of weeks has been very disturbing: Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, Ray McDonald, Adrian Peterson.

What’s even more disturbing is that the NFL and their respective teams have given no consistency despite all of them being in essentially the same hot water. Rice was suspended for two games, then indefinitely, then cut from the Ravens; Hardy wasn’t suspended at all until the Rice situation blew up, then was deactivated for last week’s game and is currently active for his next game; McDonald is being investigated but has not been formally charged yet, and has played in both games so far this year; Peterson has had two stories of child abuse surface and was deactivated last weekend, he was reinstated this weekend but has since been placed on the exempt list after sponsors began pulling their money.

And that last bit there…that’s where things began changing in the NFL — money. When fans and players speak out against these players, the NFL responded with silence and goose chases. When sponsors began speaking out and ending deals, players became suspended.

This is where Notre Dame stands out from the crowd. Notre Dame didn’t give Everett Golson special treatment because he was a star quarterback. He got the same treatment that Will Mahone got: fix your issues, then reapply. Golson did both, and now he’s back on the team and playing some of the best football in the nation. Mahone dealt with his legal issues (it is unclear if his anger and/or substance abuse issues have been addressed) but never reapplied to the University.

For these four players involved in the current academic fraud case, they need only know one thing: Notre Dame stands by you. They may punish you, they may take football away from you — but they stand by you. They give you every resource possible to help you in school, and they give you everything you need to regain your enrollment.

Notre Dame does not put the success of its football team first; Golson was dismissed for a year while other schools may have given only a one or two game suspension for a similar charge.

While we sit back and wait for a decision on these players involved in the fraud case, let us take a moment to remember what that Notre Dame is doing what is best for each individual student. They didn’t wait for the NCAA to force them to punish the kids. They didn’t wait for Gatorade to pull its water coolers from the sidelines.

Remember this the next time a school suspends a kid for just a half of football after being arrested over the weekend. Remember the this the next time you feel like complaining about the school taking too long to decide the fate of the foursome.

Notre Dame does Notre Dame things and at a Notre Dame pace, we all know this. I trust that the students’ well-beings will be put first in their hearings. That’s what this school does. It won’t put the football team first, it won’t cut out cancerous players for no reason.

It is a special place and I’m proud to have an association with the University and the great fans that support it.

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